Ducks winger Andrew Cogliano skates during warm-ups prior to Friday’s game against the Kings as fans support him with ‘#831’ signs in his return from a controversial suspension that ended his streak of 830 consecutive games played. (Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images)

By the time the bulk of the Ducks hit the ice Friday for their morning skate at Honda Center, Cogliano was already out there with his longtime linemates, Jakob Silfverberg and Ryan Kesler.

Hours later, Cogliano was completing his pre-game routine as he has for all 11 of his seasons. But as he skated around and took shots in the warm-up sessions, signs from Ducks fans around the glass offered support of a remarkable consecutive games streak – and also reminded him of its inglorious end.

Several among the sellout crowd held up placards with “#831” written in bold print, not wanting to go along with the 830 that will go into the record books as the fourth-longest uninterrupted stretch in NHL history.

Injury didn’t stop it. A two-game suspension did and fans also held up many signs with “Suspend George” in reference to George Parros, the one-time Ducks fan favorite who now oversees the Department of Player Safety, the league’s discipline wing.

Many within the organization were livid with the ruling on Cogliano’s hit against Kings forward Adrian Kempe last week. Owners Henry and Susan Samueli weighed in with their thoughts during a video tribute to the winger, who acknowledged the standing ovation he received to honor his run.

“Although we remain disappointed with the recent decision of the Department of Player Safety, we congratulate Andrew on his historic streak and are happy to have him back on the ice, where he belongs,” the Samuelis said.

Those feelings have capped an emotional outpouring of support thrown in Cogliano’s direction. Former players such as Teemu Selanne and Tie Domi also tweeted out their feeling that the ban was unjust.

“The most important people to me are my teammates,” Cogliano said. “Players in the league. And your peers. At the end of the day, those are the guys who are playing. The players know what’s not good and what’s acceptable.

“I was reached out to by a lot of guys who not only told me what they were thinking and what their whole teams were thinking. Like I said, it was a lot. They all expressed the same thing, that they didn’t think it deserved a suspension.”

How unfamiliar was it to watch the game from the press box? On Monday in Denver, Cogliano was fidgety as he watched from a different perspective inside Pepsi Center as his teammates took a 3-1 loss. It looks a lot easier from that high above the ice.

“It was just different in general,” Cogliano said. “It was more of a shock if anything. I guess when you play for every game in 11 years, it’s just something you’re not used to. I think that was pretty normal. It seemed like at that time, I wasn’t really talking about what I was going through.

“It was more of a situation where I just wanted to keep playing and hope it continued. When you start sitting down and thinking about it when it ends, emotions are just pretty natural at that point. And I think that’s what happened.”

THE X-FACTOR?

A scoring surge has left Ondrej Kase with 20 points in 30 games and it is becoming more clear that the right wing is on the verge of becoming a consistent point producer – as long as he is able to stay on the ice.

Kase’s season has been interrupted three times because of injury or illness. When the 22-year-old has played, he hasn’t gone into any extended slumps. His longest scoreless streak is four games.

In his first three games since returning from a bout with the flu, Kase has three goals and two assists.

“It’s nice having him back,” said center Adam Henrique, Kase’s linemate. “Obviously he was sick a couple of weeks ago. He’s been an impact since he’s been back. Now with us being healthy and us being able to have time together on a line, our chemistry has been able to build and kind of come out.

“We’ve been effective since we’ve been together. It’s something we try to talk a lot on the bench and make sure we’re playing the right way. We’re above the puck and we’re putting pucks in. And I think when we put our speed to use is when we’re effective.”

Along with left wing Nick Ritchie, Ducks coach Randy Carlyle is encouraged by a combination he believes has the capacity to provide offense outside of his two top lines. He has repeated referred to the energetic Kase as his “Energizer Bunny” but also tries to keep from heaping lavish praise on him.

“I think he’s a young player who’s finding his way,” Carlyle said. “Let’s face it, this is his first full year in the NHL. … I appreciate the contribution he’s making and he’s been real strong in the last couple of games here. And we want that to continue.”